Electrical Properties and Grain Growth Kinetics of PZN-based Ceramics Using Microwave Sintering

Effectiveness of microwave sintering process through investigation of microstructural characteristics and electrical properties of x(0.94PbZn_ 1/3Nb_ 2/3O_3 + 0.06BaTiO_3)+(1-x)PbZr_yTi_ 1-yO_3(PBZNZT)ceramics with x=0.6 and y=0.52 was evaluated.The relative density of 95% was achieved with sintering at 800℃ for 2 h.The small grain growth exponents indicate how easy the grain growth in these materials sintered using microwave radiation.Grain growth rate increases abruptly and is higher than that of conventional sintering at a temperature higher than 1050℃.This is attributed to the lower activation energy and higher grain boundary mobility.The activation energy required for the grain growth is found to be 132kJ/mol.Higher remanent polarization(Pr=50.1μC/cm2)and increase in remanent polarization with sintering temperature are observed in microwave sintering process when compared to that of conventional sintering process,due to fast increase in grain growth rate and homogeneity in the specimen.The results indicate lower sintering energy and reduction of PbO pollution in the working environment by microwave sintering process.

Effects of SiC interfacial coating on mechanical properties of carbon fiber needled felt reinforced sol-derived Al2O3 composites

3D carbon fiber needled felt and polycarbosilane-derived SiC coating were selected as reinforcement and interfacial coating,respectively,and the sol-impregnation-drying-heating(SIDH)route was used to fabricate C/Al2O3 composites.The effects of Si C interfacial coating on the mechanical properties,oxidation resistance and thermal shock resistance of C/Al2O3 composites were investigated.It is found that the fracture toughness of C/Al2O3 composites was remarkably superior to that of monolithic Al2O3 ceramics.The introduction of SiC interfacial coating obviously improved the strengths of C/Al2O3 composites although the fracture work diminished to some extent.Owing to the tight bonding between SiC coating and carbon fiber,the C/SiC/Al2O3 composites showed much better oxidation and thermal shock resistance over C/Al2O3 composites under static air.

Co-doping Effect on Microstructures and Ionic Conductivity of Aliovalent Cations Modified Ceria

Microstructural features and ionic conductivity of divalent(Mg 2+)and trivalent(Gd 3+)cations co-doped ceria electrolyte system Ce_ 0.8-xGd_ 0.2Mg_xO_ 1.9-x were investigated by scanning electron microscopy(SEM)and AC impedance analysis.The experimental results exhibit that addition of MgO to GDC reduces the average binding energy of GDC by decreasing the energy barrier of oxygen ion migration in ceria matrix and the ionic conductivity of 2 mol% magnesium doped GDC(0.018 S/cm)is higher than that of GDC matrix at 650℃(0.0105 S/cm).Co-doping Mg 2+ and Gd 3+ is found to increase the ionic conductivity of ceria and hence decreases the operation temperature as well as the cost of solid oxide fuel cell(SOFC).

Fabrication and oxidation resistance of mullite/yttrium silicate multilayer coatings on C/SiC composites

A tri-layer coating of mullite/Y_(2)Si_(2)O_(7)/(70wt%Y_(2)Si_(2)O_(7)+30wt%Y_(2)SiO_(5))was prepared on carbon fiber reinforced silicon carbide(C/SiC)composite substrate through dip-coating route for the sake of improving oxidation resistance of C/SiC composites.An Al_(2)O_(3)-SiO_(2) sol with high solid content was selected as raw material for mullite,and a slurry of Y_(2)O_(3) powder filled silicone resin was used to synthesize yttrium silicate.The microstructure,phase composition,and oxidation resistance of the coating were investigated.The as-fabricated coating shows high density and favorable bonding to C/SiC substrate.After oxidation at 1400 and 1500℃for 30 min under static air,the flexural strengths of coated C/SiC composite were both increased by~30%.The desirable thermal stability and the further densification are responsible for excellent oxidation resistance.With the additional help of compatible thermal expansion coefficients among substrate and sub-layers in coating,the coated composite retained 111.2%of original flexural strength after 12 times of thermal shock in air from 1400℃ to room temperature.The carbothermal reaction at 1600℃ between free carbon in C/SiC substrate and rich SiO_(2) in mullite resulted in severe frothing and desquamation of coating and obvious degradation in oxidation resistance.

Mechanical properties and thermal stability of carbon fiber cloth reinforced sol-derived mullite composites

For the wide application as thermal protection materials,it is very necessary for mullite ceramics to improve fracture toughness.In this paper,the laminated and stitched carbon fiber cloth preform reinforced mullite(C/mullite)composites were prepared through the route of sol impregnation and heat treatment using the Al2O3-SiO2 sol with a high solid content as raw materials.The C/mullite composites showed a flexural strength of 228.9 MPa that was comparable to that of dense monolithic mullite although the total porosity reached 13.4%.Especially,a fracture toughness of 11.2 MPa·m1/2that was 4–5 times that of dense monolithic mullite was obtained.Strength deterioration due to the carbothermal reduction between carbon fiber and the residual SiO2 in matrix was found above 1200℃.A pyrolytic C(Py C)coating was deposited on carbon fibers as interfacial coating.The chemical damage to carbon fibers was obviously alleviated by the sacrifice of PyC coating.Accordingly,the C/PyC/mullite composites kept strength unchanged up to 1500℃,and showed much higher strength retention ratio than C/mullite composites after annealing at 1600℃.